Azerbaijani business opportunities explored with French partners in Paris
Baku, March 16 (AZERTAC). The multiple opportunities presented by Azerbaijan, both in the hydrocarbons and non-oil sectors, have been highlighted in the The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) Business Forum 2013 at the Hôtel de l’Industrie - Siège de la Société d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale in the sixth arrondissement of Paris.
Following on from two earlier successful events in London in 2011 and 2012, this forum on 14 March was the first in the French capital to focus on expanding Azerbaijani-French business ties. Over 170 delegates from government, business, civil society and media took part in the event, together with an impressive roster of speakers from both countries.
Nathalie Goulet, Senator and Vice-President of the France-Azerbaijan Friendship Group in the French Senate said: “I have been visiting Azerbaijan for 15 years. Azerbaijan is definitely a partner of Europe, and the country has been rapidly developing, regardless of the ongoing Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions for the past two decades. Azerbaijan is also one country where multiculturalism actually works. It presents real opportunities for French companies, both in and outside the hydrocarbons sector.”
Naturally, Azerbaijan’s developing importance as a hydrocarbon-producing nation and transit country for resources from Central Asia took centre-stage. The country will play an intrinsic role in the proposed Southern Corridor of pipelines, which will ensure energy security for Europe for the foreseeable future. Kevin Boyle, Technical Adviser, TOTAL, stated: “TOTAL first entered Azerbaijan in 1999, when it obtained an equity share in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which now delivers more than a million barrels of oil each day to the port of Ceyhan. We also have a 10 per cent stake in the Shah Deniz gas project. When it comes on-stream in 2018, Shah Deniz 2 will have an annual output of 16bcm3 (bcm), in addition to the 8bcm from Stage 1. TOTAL has a 40 per cent in the Absheron field development, which contains an estimated 350bcm of gas.”
The afternoon was dedicated to B2B sessions, when over 20 companies had the opportunity to discuss areas of common interest and co-operation, many of which will be followed up in Baku.
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